MarkLogic, FAST, Categorical Affirmatives, and a Direction Change
July 5, 2011
I weakened this morning (July 4, 2011) with a marketing Fourth of July boom. I received one of those ever present LinkedIn updates putting a comment from the Enterprise Search Engine Professionals Group in front of me.
The MarkLogic positioning exploded on my awareness like a Fourth of July skyrocket’s burst.
Most of the comments on the LinkedIn group are ho hum. One hot topic has been Microsoft’s failure to put much effort in its blogs about Fast Search & Transfer’s technology. Snore. Microsoft put down $1.2 billion for Fast, made some marketing noises, and had a fellow named Mr. Treo-something talk to me about the “new” Fast Search system. Then search turned out to be more like a snap in but without the simplicity of a Web part. Microsoft moved on and search is there, but like Google’s shift to Android, search is not where the action is. I am not sure who “runs” the enterprise search unit at Microsoft. Lots of revolving door action is my impression of Microsoft’s management approach in the last year.
The noise died down and Fast has become another component in the sprawling Shanghai of code known as SharePoint 2010. Making Fast “fast” and tuning it to return results that don’t vary with each update has created a significant amount of business for Microsoft partners “certified” to work on Fast Search. Licensees of the Linux/Unix version of ESP are now like birds pushed from the next by an impatient mother.
New MarkLogic Market Positioning?
Set Microsoft aside for a moment and look at this post from a MarkLogic professional who once worked at Fast Search and subsequently at Microsoft. I am not sure how to hyperlink to LinkedIn posts without generating a flood of blue and white screens begging for log in, sign up, and money. I will include a link, but you are on your own.
Here’s the alleged MarkLogic professional’s comment:
Many organizations are replacing FAST with MarkLogic. MarkLogic offers a scalable enterprise search engine with all the features of FAST plus more…
Wow.
An XML engine with wrappers is now capable of “all” the Fast features. In my new monograph “The New Landscape of Enterprise Search”, I took some care to review information presented by Fast at CERN, the wizard lair in Europe, about Fast Search’s effort to rewrite Fast ESP, which was originally a Web search engine. The core was wrapped to convert Web search into enterprise search. This was neither quick nor particularly successful. Fast Search & Transfer ran into some tough financial waters, ended up the focus of a government investigation, and was quickly sold for a price that surprised me and the goslings in Harrod’s Creek.
You can get the details of the focus of the planned reinvention of the Fast system and the link to the source document at CERN which I reference in my Landscape study. A rewrite indicates that some functions were not in 2007 and 2008 performing in a manner that was acceptable to someone in Fast Search’s management. Then the acquisition took place. The Linux/Unix support was nuked. Fast under Microsoft’s wing has become a utility in the incredible assemblage of components that comprises SharePoint 2010. I track the SharePoint ecosystem in my information service SharePointSemantics.com. If you haven’t seen the content, you might want to check it out.
Are Webinars the Backbone of Concept Searching Marketing?
July 5, 2011
On the surface, Concept Searching looks like some of the other analytics company that asserts steady growth. What is interesting is that when some value adding software co9mpanies market, webinars or online lectures and demos are a component of a broader marketing program, Concept Search seems to rely heavily on webinars. We find this interesting.
We looked into one search company which was using Twitter to make the text processing service a hot trend. From our vantage point, it seems that Concept Searching is using social media in a more modest way.
Though it sounds like Spiderman should be involved, a webinar is simply an online seminar or workshop. The great thing about a webinar is that it is usually interactive and allows all participates to give, receive and discuss the topics at hand. Additionally, geographical boundaries are not an issue and these presentations are very low in cost.
When perusing Concept Searching’s Web site, you will find an entire events page dedicated to their upcoming exhibitions and a list and description of their current webinars. Some titles include: “Designing Information Architecture for SharePoint: Making Sense in a World of SharePoint Architecture” and “De-mystifying Content Types: Four Key Content Types of Leverage.” You simply register and voilà, you join in on all the fun. They also have a page dedicated to previously recorded webinars that you can access at your leisure.
I moderate webinars for a couple of outfits, and these are often expensive programs. There is time, often lots of time, required to prepare the text, create the graphics and demos, and then build an audience. I participate in webinars when I am paid to do so. However, I do not participate in webinars. The reason is that I am receiving inputs, experiencing interruptions even when the door is closed, and working to respond to ad hoc requests from clients.
I do think that webinars are somewhat more useful than attending certain conferences. Over the last couple of years, conferences are more like fraternity and sorority parties. But that perception may be a function of my age and distaste for rock and roll, mixed media events with lots of 20 somethings opining about social media and organic search. Yikes, digital bonsai.
This leads me to the question, “Who has time to participate in webinars?” If these are buyers of high end solutions, great. However, if I were the boss of a company where webinars consumed staff time, I would be asking some questions about the efficacy of the method.
I find reading a Web page and using an online demo or downloading code useful. Webinars may be too zippy for an old goose like me. One thing for sure: lots of companies are using webinars to hold down the cost of on site sales calls and getting individuals “interested” in a product or service to cough up an email address.
Stephen E Arnold, July 5, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of the New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Security and Open Source: A Delicate Mix Requires a Deft Hand
July 5, 2011
I recall reading a very unusual write up with a “learning” hook. The story was “The 10 Worst Cloud Outages (and What We can Learn from Them).” The article makes lemonade from the Amazon faults, which is a combination of home grown, open source, and commercial software. The lemonade bucket is full because the same recipe is used for cloud outages at Microsoft Sidekick, Google’s Gmail (with no reference to the Blogger.com crash during this year’s Inside Search conference which focused on cloud stuff), Microsoft’s Hotmail issues, Intuit’s flubs, Microsoft’s business productivity online standard suite stumbles, Saleforce.com’s outage, Terremark’s troubles, PayPal’s hiccups, and Rackspace’s wobblies.
What the article taught me was that this cloud stuff is pretty difficult even for folks with deep pockets, lots of engineers, and oodles of customers who swallow the pitch hook, line, and sinker.
My hope is that US government funding of research into the use of open source software for security applications can route around cloud dependencies. “DHS, Georgia Tech Seek to Improve Security with Open Source Tools.” The article said:
Although parts of the government, such as the Defense Department, have embraced open-source software for a variety of applications, many agencies still view it as suspect. As a resource, Davis hopes HOST will help to dispel the “hippie in the basement” view of open-source programs — that it’s cobbled together by enthusiasts rather than teams of professional programmers. The advantage of open-source software is that users can vet the source code themselves to make an application more secure. “Having something in a cellophane wrapped box doesn’t make it safer,” he said.
A combination of cloud technology and open source might prove the undoing of a well conceived program based on open source technology. Intertwining the cloud and open source tools for security might create a interesting and difficult to troubleshoot situation. Let’s hope the approach delivers lemonade with just the right amount of sugar, not a sour concoction.
Stephen E Arnold, July 5, 2011
From the leader in next-generation analysis of search and content processing, Beyond Search.
Protected: How Universities Use SharePoint for Their Web Sites
July 5, 2011
Kapow and Clarabridge: Sentiment and UK Elections
July 4, 2011
There’s a new duo in town. Kapow and Clarabridge created a buzz with their text and social media mining skills in the Election Buzz UK Project.
According to “Media Alert: Kapow Technologies using Clarabridge Text and Sentiment Analytics in Election Buzz UK Project,” political junkies can gather real-time election insights.
Using Kapow Technologies to gather real-time web data from sources such as Twitter, Facebook and the main political blog sites, in combination with Clarabridge for text analytics and sentiment analysis, political commentators and followers alike will be able to track the sentiment and real-time insights that come from the rich and diverse social media sites across the Web.
Clarabridge is a provider of sentiment and text analytics software which gives companies a “universal view of their customer feedback by transforming text-based customer feedback into valuable insight.”
Kapow Technologies provides companies access to public Web data, making it easy to integrate and migrate the data from its source. In fact, transformation of content is part of the Kapow capabilities.
So what’s this relationship mean?
Tech-savvy companies are sucking in a Twitter feed and turning the drivel and gems into actionable data. Political commentators and followers benefited here but surely the partnership will catch the eye of business intelligence vendors looking to improve marketing abilities, product offerings, and customer service. Sentiment, I believe, is the new black for fall 2011.
Philip West, July 4, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
MeauxSoft: Free Search Tool for Your Hard Drive
July 4, 2011
“Mo-Search Puts Your Computer’s Data at Your Fingertips,” offers MeauxSoft. Version 4.0.4 of Mo-Search was just released. It and earlier versions can be downloaded from this page. Though the downloads are free, MeauxSoft suggests a donation if you find the tool useful.
Regarding the new version, the write-up lists the advances:
Supports Windows XP and later. Changes include: low overhead AutoIndex, AutoUpdate, new database engine (SQLCE), faster indexing and searching, plus many other bug fixes, optimizations and improvements.
The company boasts that Mo-Search is free of spyware and adware. That’s not a given?
It’s easy to use, providing results that are ranked and sorted. Unlike competitors’ free products, this application allows searching networked drives. Important, that.
Ease of use is enhanced with a file viewer that highlights matches without launching a separate app. Other features such as quick viewing of a file within the application, a find duplicates function, and a point and click interface are useful touches.
Stephen E Arnold, July 4, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Going Fast and Cheap Online for Information
July 4, 2011
“The Web: Fast, Cheap, and Getting Worse by the Minute,” declares InfoWorld. Writer Robert X. Cringely begins with the old adage, “cheap, fast, or good. Pick two.” Mr. Cringely believes that “good” has been left on the table in today’s Web-based journalism.
Fast and good requires a significant financial investment, he insists, like the huge staffs papers used to have but can no longer afford. Good and cheap requires more time, he states, and belongs to the realm of monthly magazine, not daily news sites. Can Internet journalism do anything right?
The author does site his employer as an example of fast and good, but seems concerned that InfoWorld quality may soon fall victim to the specter of budget cuts.
In summary, Cringely asserts,
Web publications are under tremendous pressure to crank out as much material as they can as quickly as possible. More stories equals greater Google juice and more traffic; more traffic equals more ad impressions and clicks, and thus more revenue. That’s the formula. And it’s getting worse.
Is Mr. Cringely throwing some in the writing profession under a bus? I think the columnist has a point, but we have to work with what we’re given. This is just another call to change the world. Not likely to happen.
As the piece acknowledges, the world of journalism has changed dramatically and it won’t be going back to the print model any time soon. Papers that are transitioning online are indeed cutting staff and other expenses. This means less research, less editing, and less fact-checking. I suggest that this puts the onus back on the reader—don’t believe everything you read, and do your own fact checking. Nowadays that doesn’t even require a trip to the library. Just open a new tab and check FactCheck.org, PolitiFact.com, or even Snopes.com. Right there on the Web.
Maybe neither traditional nor the new media is perfect? I just know there’s no use griping about the current state of affairs. We must adapt, writers and readers alike, for there’s no going back. Consumers should take responsibility for their own intellectual explorations, and confirm with a variety of sources before spreading information. It’s common knowledge, or should be, that you can’t just accept anything you read on the Internet.
Perhaps, in the long run, worrying about the quality of reading material will prove to be a moot point anyway. “Snap in another video, mom. I have to learn how to perform a physics experiment and the book is just too much work.”
Cynthia Murrell July 4, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search
Protected: How to Incorporate Sharepoint into Microsoft Office
July 4, 2011
Who Has Read 6,000 Nortel Patent Documents?
July 4, 2011
I know I haven’t, and my hunch is that not too many people in Harrod’s Creek have either.
I would, if I were a risk taker, wager that the purchasers of the Nortel intellectual property are taking the “pony in there” approach to these intellectual Augean stables. The idea is that if there are certain indications of a four hooved equine in a barn, there is probably one or more ponies around. The “certain indications” are the output of the pony. Nortel was a heck of a pony in the telecommunications sector, so the $4.5 billion bet of finding something of value in the Nortel output is hoped to be high.
You will want to read “Nortel Patents Go to Group that Includes Apple, Microsoft, RIM, and More.” The write up suggested to me that Google is the target of the consortium which now “owns” the Nortel intellectual property.
But the task is to understand the scope of the claims within this corpus of patent documents. The “pony in there” is going to have to be found, and that will take time, money, and considerable effort.
The problem on this sultry day in Kentucky is that most people are not reading the Nortel patent documents. At some point, legal eagles with many “interns” and others who can sit for hours to demonstrate the value of their training will work through the documents. Even with the plump payrolls of Microsoft, Apple, and the other members of the consortium now owning the Nortel intellectual property, grinding through 6,000 patent documents is a tough business. Nortel’s engineers and scientists rambled across high speed wireless, networking, mobile devices, semiconductors, and related fields. More than in house lawyers and the consortium’s attorneys are going to be needed to:
- Ingest the patents
- Analyze the claims
- Match the claims against possible infringements
- Determine which alleged infringements warrant legal action.
Augean stables’ dwellers. A big job indeed. Source: http://marksadams.blogspot.com/2007/09/use-your-allusion-4-cleaning-augean.html
Big job. Google has about 650 patents. The candidates for alleged infringement must be reanalyzed in light of Google’s patent documents. Work and more work.
Let’s assume that one wants to read these 6,000 documents, figure out the technical issues, and perform the ranking of the Nortel patents most likely to be an issue for Google. The consortium can just be 1,000 patent attorneys and give each attorney six Nortel patents to read. Then each attorney can write a short opinion document and forward them to the legal team which can sift through the 6,000 pages of opinions.
An old fashioned approach to use traditional online commercial patent document service such as Lexis, Derwent or Questel, or poke around for a service such as Patents Online. The fact is that patent information is quite abundant. There is the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the USPTO. There are also abundant free sources as well; for example, Pat2PDF.org. Online research can help trim the document set down to size.
Search Lion: Innovative Search Results Presentation
July 3, 2011
Short honk: You will want to explore SearchLion.com, a newcomer to the Web search sector. The interface is clean. Enter a query in the search box and click a content type. The search results display. When you click the “open” button, the Web site displays in the white space on the right hand panel of the interface. Click the title and you open the link in a full browser window. The idea is that I did not navigate away from the results list to see a Web site.
In a blog post, the company highlighted two interesting features in its blog post “The Bing Imperative”:
The ability to open search results right on the search page. The ability to view different types of search results at the same time.
At this time, SearchLion is presenting search results from Google or Yahoo within its service. SearchLion suggests it will offer its own index in the near future. Worth a look at how the company is approaching “user experience.”
Stephen E Arnold, July 3, 2011
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